Bryer venting arrangement



March 10, 1964 c. E. ERICKSON DRYER VENTING ARRANGEMENT Filed Dec. 28, 1961 FIG. 3

FIG. 2

6 INVENTOR. CLIFFORD E. ERICKSON FIG. 5

ATTGWNE Y United States Patent 3,123,939 DRYER VENTING ARRANGEMENT Clillord E. Erickson, Chicago, Ill., assiguor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New Yorlr Filed Dec. 28, 196i, Ser. No. 162,8fill Claims. (Cl. 50-40) This invention relates to clothes dryer venting, and more particularly to means for accommodating the passage of a clothes dryer vent pipe through a wall of a building.

it is quite well known that during the operation of domestic clothes dryers, a large Volume of hot, moisture laden, air is discharged therefrom, and that the discharging air transports a substantial quantity of lint. it is the practice, therefore to conduct this discharge air to a point exteriorly of the building, thus to carry the hot, moisturebearing, exhaust air away from the dryer to thereby maintain the room housing the dryer at low or normal relative humidity, and free of airborne lint. Thus, when a dryer is to be placed in an existing home, a portion of the wall must be removed, the venting pipe must then be placed through the wall and the area surrounding the pipe sealed against the weather. Insulation around the thin sheet metal pipe is frequently omitted, for under any normal operation of the dryer, the pipe does not feel dangerously hot to the touch. Nevertheless, the pipe should be well insulated where it passes through the exterior building wall, or the sharp temperature chan e acting on the heated air in the pipe as it passes through the wall may cause a vapor barrier to be set up in the pipe adjacent the wall. The barrier initially causes the formation of condensate in the pipe. Condensate formation tends to precipitate the lint, thus impeding the outward passage of lint through the conduit. in view of the fact that the householder is quite unaware of this situation, it is most unlikely that he will periodically dismantle the venting system to clean it; whereupon after a number of operations of the dryer, enough lint can accumulate to constitute a serious obstruction to the free fiow of air. This blockage can constitute a real fire hazard, as the dryer temperature will tend to increase when the air flow through the dryer is blocked.

The present invention contemplates a prefabricated venting fixture which may be mounted within an exterior Wall of that portion of the home to be used as the laundry area. The fixture optimally is of a relatively heavy, weatherproof plastic, rectangular in cross-section and closed off at each end. Thus, there is formed a hollow rectangular structure fully closed oil which is designed to extend fully through a building side wall. When adapted for brick wall construction, for example, the structure will extend two brick courses high and be approximately eight inches (or one brick length) wide. When it is made a part of the original wall construction, it can be adequately sealed against the weather by conventional caulking means. To subsequently accommodate the passage of a 4-inch diameter sheet metal pipe usually used for venting domestic dryers, the front and back walls of the fixture are arranged to be opened by simple hand tools. For example, these walls are flanged and indented to outline a centrally located four-inch circle. After cutting through the walls to remove the circle of material, the householder may pass a length of vent pipe through the fixture. Preferably, the openings resulting from removal of the scored circle are slightly undersized to provide an interference fit with the pipe, and the adjacent wall of the fixture forms a flange-like seal against the wall of the pipe. By this usage, no laborious hole cutting must be made through the building sidewall. The fit between the opening and the vent pipe is designed to be a tight one flanged to provide surface contact with the vent, requir- 3,l23,%9 Patented Mar. 10, lfi4 ing no further sealing or rebuilding of the surrounding area. The remaining rectangular structure of the spacer provides a dead air space surrounding the pipe as it extends through the wall to thermally insulate the vent pipe in the wall area. By providing this thermal insulation, the possibility of condensate formation and consequent lint buildup is alleviated.

The invention therefore has as its object to provide a clothes dryer venting fixture which comprises a closed, rectangular, hollow, thermal insulator with front and rear faces scored for later removal.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a structural member especially designed for insertion into a brick wall during construction, which member is sized to accommodate itself to standard masonry practices, and wherein the opposed outward and inward faces of the member are preconditioned for subsequent removal of a predetermined face area to tightly receive a clothes dryer vent pipe while insulating it from the adjacent building wall.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description of a presently preferred embodiment of the invention, read in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a partial perspective view of a brick wall in which the invention has been installed;

PEG. 2 is a side sectional elevation of the venting fixture shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the venting fixture of PEG. 1;

PEG. 4 is an enlarged, detailed view of the area circled at 4 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, detailed View of the area circled at 5 in PEG. 2; and

PEG. 6 shows the venting fixture as installed with a vent pipe extending through the fixture.

In FIG. 1 there is shown a section of brick wall ill which includes a plurality of courses of standard sized bricks 12 held together by suitable interlayers of mortar, the courses being laid in a generally known manner. Within the wall, in place of a plurality of bricks is the venting fixture 14 which forms the subject of the invention. The fixture is a hollow, closed rectangular structure with opposed, front and rear faces l6 and 13, respectively. Side, top and bottom walls 2@ complete the structure. The Walls are preferably integral one with the other; such an integral structure may be fabricated of a plastic, by such known techniques as blow molding. Although there are numerous well known thermo-setting plastics which may be formed in this way, i prefer to use one which has low heat conductivity such as a butyrate or more specifically such as cellulose acetate butyrate. The wall thickness should be substantial-for example, one quarter of an inch-and either internally or externally, or both, may have integral rib structures 21. Structure 14 should optimally extend vertically for the height of two brick courses, laterally may extend for the length of one brick, and forc-and-aft should extend through the wall to position front face to outwardly of the Wall and parallel thereto and rear face 18 flush with the inner edge surface of the Wall. By this sizing, the spacer may be fitted into a wall under construction with no brick cutting necessary to position the spacer and the surrounding bricks.

It should be noted that standard dryer venting procedure calls for vents to be placed at least 12 inches above ground level to allow proper exhausting to the atmosphere. At this height, assuming standard house construction, the vent pipe will extend either through the brick portion of the house wall; or through the wood portion if the construction be frame. Of course, fixture 14 when installed in a wall will be installed with its bottom wall at least 12 inches above ground level to conform to the standard venting practice.

The front face it: is fabricated by suitable process such as molding with a rearwardly directed -shaped annulus As shown in FIG. 5, the annulus comprises a relatively deep V in the wall 16, which is the outer or Weather wall of the fixture. The annulus is therefore defined in part by a conical flange portion 32. This flange may be on the order of /2 inch or more in depth, for reasons which will be set out more fully. The flange terminates at an apex 34- which can be reached from the front face 16 of the spacer structure. Radially inwardly of the apex, the wall is recurved to provide a central-positioned, flush, circular disc 36 in face 16. The diameter across the apices, measured at the apex should be approximately 3%.

The rear wall 18 includes aligned coaxially with disc 36 in the front face, a rearwardly protruberant circular disc 42 which at its circumference includes a flange 44 serving to connect the disc to the wall 18 proper. Radially inwardly of the flange, the protruberant disc is indented in a V-shaped annulus 46 which may be reached from the rear of the wall 18. Flange 44, it can be seen, is rearwardly directed from the rear face of the structure and also is rearwardly directed with respect to the front face of the structure and the front of the masonry wall. In a manner similar to that of flange 32, the flange 44 should be roughly /2 in depth and the diameter of the indentation should be on the order of 3 3 When the vent fixture 14 is inserted into the wall during construction, the bond or header courses are spaced to provide structural strength above and about the fixture, since the fixture itself has little inherent structural rigidity. To add further wall rigidity above the fixture, a suitable metal plate 4-7, as shown in FIG. 6, or a series of strengthening straps generally used in building construction, may be appropriately deployed about the fixture to strengthen the wall and also to serve as a firm base on which the next higher courses may be laid. When the wall is completed, the fixture provides a portion of the wall which is as weather impervious as the remainder of the wall, while affording means for easily accommodating the passage of a dryer vent pipe, as presently described.

It is understood, of course, that the building wall is an exterior wall of a space which may constitute a laundry room or laundry area. A dryer (not shown) will be placed in this space, with its back to the wall in any of the generally known configuration. Then the fixture 14 is prepared for the vent pipe. The installation mechanic, or the householder, uses a knife, small saw of the coping type, or other sharp-edged tool to penetrate the wall 18 at the base of the indentation 46. The knife then follows about the circle defined by the indentation, and the disc is discarded. From the building exterior, a similar practice is followed about the V apex 34. The disc portion 36 is discarded. At the face it therefore, the opening is defined by a rearwardly extending flange 54 having a short reentrant rim 4%; at the face 16, the opening is defined by a downwardly curved rim 59. These flanged openings are coaxial, and the bounding structures thereof suited for an interference fit with a 4" vent pipe 51, which the mechanic would force fit through the fixture from the exterior or front side. The pipe 51 would first be fitted through the 3% inch diameter front opening past flange 32 and further forced through the 9% inch diameter rear opening past flange 44 to extend tightly through the prism in a flange-supported manner. By this compressed fit, the

anges will flatten to extend along the outer surface of the pipe in the manner shown in FIG. 6. A conventional front damper plate 52 with vent hood 54 may be integrally secured to the vent pipe 51. Such damper plates are designed to butt against the front face of the masonry wall and may be sealed to the wall in any generally known fashion. In actuality, the tight fit of the flanges about the vent pipe alleviates the necessity of sealing the pipe exterior and these flanges tend to support the pipe in the wall opening. However, if desired the peripheral area of damper plate may be caulked or otherwise sealed to the adjacent portion of the masonry wall.

With the pipe in position within the fixture, the air trapped about the vent pipe acts as a surrounding insulating barrier for the pipe. This insulating barrier inhibits the rapid change of temperature of heated, moist air passing through the pipe. Therefore, with this construction, little condensation is formed in the pipe adjacent the wall and the moist air maintains its temperature and lint rctaining propensity until the air reaches the outer atmosphere adjacent the outer wall face, for exhaust to the surrounding air. Hence, the venting fixture is used to provide an air trapping insulation barrier about a dryer vent pipe with no added insulating means necessary.

While there has been described what is at present thought to be a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is understood that various modifications may be made therein, and it is my intension to cover in the appended claims, all such modifications which fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is: 1. A building-wall fixture adapted to receive a vent pipe to be passed through a building-wall subsequent to the erection of said wall, comprising:

wall structures integral one with the other to define a hollow rectangular prism adapted to be installed within a building-wall during the fabrication thereof, said prism having a length substantially equal to the thickness of a wall whereby the end walls of said prism will be substantially fiush with the adjacent wall surfaces; said prism end wall structures being of a resilient material impervious to the passage of moisture and at least the outer end wall structure being imperforate;

each said end wall structure having a circular indentation bounded by an angularly extending wall portion, the respective indentations being coaxial and respectively providing a pattern for the removal of a circular portion of the end walls when after the placement of said prism within the wall it is desired to accommodate the passage therethrough of a vent pipe in spaced relation to the top, bottom and side walls of said prism;

the diameter of the resulting circular openings being such that there will be an interference fit between therespective angularly extending wall portions and a vent pipe.

2. A building-wall fixture adapted to receive a vent pipe to be passed through a building wall subsequent to the erection of said wall, comprising:

moisture-impervious wall structures of resilient material defining a hollow rectangular prism adapted to be installed within a building wall during the fabrication thereof, said prism having a length substantially equal to the thickness of a wall whereby the end walls of said prism will be substantially flush with the adjacent wall surfaces;

said prism end wall structures being imperforate;

each said end wall structure having a continuous indentation bounded by an angularly extending wall portion, the respective indentations being in mutual alignment and respectively providing a pattern for the subsequent removal of a portion of the end walls when it is desired to provide for the passage therethrough of a vent duct in spaced relation to the top, bottom and side walls of said prism;

the size of the resulting end wall openings being such that there will be an interference fit between the respective angularly extending wall portions and a vent pipe.

3. A building-wall fixture adapted to receive a vent pipe to be passed through a building Wall subsequent to the such that the respective remaining end wall strucerection of said wall, comprising: tures relatively tightly encircle a vent pipe.

imperforate wall structures of resilient moisture-im- 4. The building-wall fixture set forth in claim 3, in pervious material defining a hollow rectangular prism which said displacement-restraining means comprise rib adapted to be installed within a building wall during 5 members extending about said fixture intermediate the the fabrication thereof, at least certain of said Wall front and rear wall thereof. structures which will be transverse of the building 5. The building-wall fixture set forth in claim 3, in wall having means for engagement with the building which the fixture is formed of low heat-conductivity mawall to restrain longitudinal displacement of said terial such as cellulose acetate butyrate. p 10 each said end wall structure having a circular indenta- References Cited in the file of this patent tion, the respective indentations being coaxial and UNITED STATES PATENTS respectively providing a pattern for the removal of 1 F a circular portion of the end walls if it is desired 21684518 Wmflock July 27, 1934 subsequently to accommodate the passage there- 15 FOREIGN PATENTS through of a vent pipe; the diameter of the resulting circular openings being 525573 Gleat Bmam 1940 

1. A BUILDING-WALL FIXTURE ADAPTED TO RECEIVE A VENT PIPE TO BE PASSED THROUGH A BUILDING-WALL SUBSEQUENT TO THE ERECTION OF SAID WALL, COMPRISING: WALL STRUCTURES INTEGRAL ONE WITH THE OTHER TO DEFINE A HOLLOW RECTANGULAR PRISM ADAPTED TO BE INSTALLED WITHIN A BUILDING-WALL DURING THE FABRICATION THEREOF, SAID PRISM HAVING A LENGTH SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO THE THICKNESS OF A WALL WHEREBY THE END WALLS OF SAID PRISM WILL BE SUBSTANTIALLY FLUSH WITH THE ADJACENT WALL SURFACES; SAID PRISM END WALL STRUCTURES BEING OF A RESILIENT MATERIAL IMPERVIOUS TO THE PASSAGE OF MOISTURE AND AT LEAST THE OUTER END WALL STRUCTURE BEING IMPERFORATE; EACH SAID END WALL STRUCTURE HAVING A CIRCULAR INDENTATION BOUNDED BY AN ANGULARLY EXTENDING WALL PORTION, THE RESPECTIVE INDENTATIONS BEING COAXIAL AND RESPECTIVELY PROVIDING A PATTERN FOR THE REMOVAL OF A CIRCULAR PORTION OF THE END WALLS WHEN AFTER THE PLACEMENT OF SAID PRISM WITHIN THE WALL IT IS DESIRED TO ACCOMMODATE THE PASSAGE THERETHROUGH OF A VENT PIPE IN SPACED RELATION TO THE TOP, BOTTOM AND SIDE WALLS OF SAID PRISM; THE DIAMETER OF THE RESULTING CIRCULAR OPENINGS BEING SUCH THAT THERE WILL BE AN INTERFERENCE FIT BETWEEN THE RESPECTIVE ANGULARLY EXTENDING WALL PORTIONS AND A VENT PIPE. 